The Gates of Death- A Chaotic Pokemon World
by Brandonrocs
Summary: What happens when you mix wild dangerous pokemon, children and angry gods? I have no idea but read to find out
1. Chapter 1

_Check out Revenantzero's story. This is (basically) a fanfiction of their fanfiction...if that makes sense... s/9849430/1/Pokemon-Chaotic-World_

_Wake up_. I heard the voice, softly at first, but then it became louder and louder. _Wake up! WAKE UP! __**WAKE**__**UP!**_ My eyes shot open and then quickly closed shut again in shock. Bright blue eyes were the only thing I saw. "Wake up Chester. It's Selection Day." _Shit._ Bonnie, my little sister, was sitting on the end of my bed. She was wearing a light green dress; a very pretty and expensive dress that cost Mum most of her work money. A dress to be only worn on Selection Day; today was Bonnie's first. Behind her smile I could see the terror. Nobody wants to be a Pokemon Trainer. I pushed Bonnie off of my bed and got up. She ran out giggling as I closed the door and got dressed. I put on a simple white buttoned up shirt and jeans with a black tie and black lace up combat boots. As I walked past the dusty mirror in my room, I got a glimpse of a boy with medium length brown hair and lightly tanned skin. I stopped and had a closer look, wiping the dirt off of the mirror. My eyes shone brightly, and I could see the odd mixture of anticipation and terror flashing and swirling in their blue depths. I nodded at my reflection and headed down to grab some bread for breakfast before I walked myself and Bonnie to school.

I sat at the small wooden table in the back of the classroom. I shared the classroom with twenty three other students. Most had the same brown hair and dirty look as me; this school was for the lower class citizens, those that live in Districts Ten, Eleven and Twelve. Most people in District Ten tend to the few Pokemon that are farmed. District Eleven work in the orchards and greenhouses, tending to and growing the City's fruit and vegetables. District Twelve go out beyond the city limits to the mines, but the children do not until they are sixteen. All twenty three students and I sat quietly. We were all terrified. The screen at the front of the room will flicker on and the names of those selected this year will show up on screen. This is the last time any of us will be in this situation. We all prayed that someone else gets selected; maybe a child of District One or Two?

The screen flickered to life, and showed a short, plump man. Prime Minister Harold Benjamin, the Leader of the City, our city, Ofain. "Ladies and Gentlemen, today is Selection Day number four hundred. Today, seven children between the normal age ranges of eleven to fifteen will be selected to become Pokemon Trainers." He pressed a button on the screen next to him, and names began to show up on the screen. They disappeared before we can see the name clearly. The names began to slow down, until seven names are filling the screen in front of the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this year's Selectees are..." Prime Minister Harold Benjamin tapped a few buttons and the screen slowly showed pictures of the Selectees with their names, ages and District of origin, "First up is Benjamin Applegate, 15 years old and from District Three. Good luck Benjamin." The picture showed a boy with short black hair, pale skin and large green glasses framing his blue eyes. "Our second Selectee is Chester Joyhaven." I could feel the vomit rising in my throat, "He is 15 years old and from District Ten. Good luck Chester." I squeezed the edge of my desk, as a few of my classmates turned to give me sympathetic looks. "Next, we have Hannah Bridgetaint. She is 15 years old as well, and is from District Seven. Good luck Hannah." The picture showed a girl with bright orange hair and dazzling green eyes. "Our Fourth Selectee is Harold Baxter, who is, again, 15 years old and is from District Eight. Good luck Harold." Harold had short brown hair and dark brown eyes. I was calming down a bit; I had released my desk. So far, the other Selectees looked friendly enough. "Our next Selectee is Marcus Betwited. He is 15 years old, which seems to be a trend this year, and is from District One." The Prime Minister stopped and swallowed a bit. He looked a little shaken up, "G-Good luck Marcus." Marcus was blond haired boy who had a smug smile and piercing blue eyes. He did not look friendly. "Selectee number six is Rebecca De'Price. Continuing the pattern, she is 15 years old and is from District Four. Good luck Rebecca." Rebecca was a girl with long brown hair, green eyes and olive-toned skin; the common look for a District Four citizen. "And our last, but certainly not least, Selectee is Samantha Littlereed. Same age as the other Selectees, 15 years, and is from District Nine. Good luck Samantha." Samantha was a pale girl with blond hair and soft blue eyes. She was also a very skinny looking girl from the photo of her. "Could these seven children please make their way to their schools' office where they will be collected. Thankyou and Good luck." The screen went black and I stood up quietly and made my way out the door. Nobody looked at me on the way out, but I saw some with slight smiles; glad they didn't get selected. My friends had tears in their eyes, but society says they must pretend they do not know me anymore.

I sat in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the school's office, waiting to be collected for my new future. A man walked in wearing the signature red band on his clothing; the mark of a Pokemon Trainer. "I'm Cedric Dogwood. I'll be your escort for your first couple of days, right up until your Ordeal. Think of me as like your tutor into the world of Pokemon Training." He said smiling and offering me his hand. I stood up and shook it. All I could respond with was my name. He smiled and directed me outside and into the vehicle waiting. I sat in silence until we reached the gates that lead to the Trainer's District. I took a deep breath as we drove under the archway. I looked up at the arch and saw some words written on the top. "What did that say?" I asked, looking at Cedric.  
"It says _Innoxius excipimus portas mortis_. That is from an old book from thousands of years before the Apocalypse. It's in a language called Latin, and it means 'The Gates of Death welcome the innocent.'" Cedric said with a pained look on his face. _He must tell that to every Selectee._ I involuntarily shuddered.

"This is the Pokemon Centre. You will come here on a semi-regular basis, mainly to heal your Pokemon, and to buy items, such as Pokeballs and antidotes." Cedric had begun to show me around the Trainer's District. We were standing out the front of a medium sized building with a red roof. Next to it was a larger building with three stories and a blue roof. "The building next to the Pokemon Centre is the Trainer's Dorms. You will live here until such time as you have enough money to rent out one of the apartments. You will be allowed two free meals a day, the rest you have to pay for yourself." Cedric stood in front of the door of the Dorms. "Follow me." He walked in through the doors and I quickly followed behind him.

Inside we walked down a flight of stairs into a room that resembled a classroom. The six other Selectees were sitting at desks around the room, and at the front of the room stood an older looking man; probably in his early fifties. I took a seat next to Rebecca De'Price, the girl from District Four; a short girl with her hair tied up in a braid. District Four was the District of Merchants. Her family probably owned a small business selling items, and she had probably travelled to other Cities to sell their goods and to trade; a Middle Class citizen. She smiled at me and gave me her hand. "Rebecca De'Price." I took her hand and was surprised at the grip she gave,  
"Chester Joyhaven." I replied. She smiled and we turned our attention to the older man. He looked as though he was about to speak.

"Hello Selectees, and welcome to the Trainer's District, or TD for short. I am the current Gym Leader, Jack De'Racher. I am basically the leader of TD; and your boss. For the next week you will come to this room and learn how to survive your Ordeal, and how to survive as a Pokemon Trainer." His deep voice resonated around the room and I felt in awed by this man. "First, let's do a roll call." He chuckled slightly and pulled out a pad of papers.

"Benjamin Applegate," A tall, skinny boy at the front of the raised his hand and said "Here", his voice was quiet and full of terror. Benjamin was from District Three the district that made the City's technology. They also manufactured the Pokeballs that held the Trainers Pokemon.

"Chester Joyhaven," I raised my hand and said "Here". Jack looked at me and nodded and continued down the list.

"Hannah Bridgetaint," A tall girl on the far left side of the room raised her hand. Hannah was from District Seven. They go into the wilds and harvested wood and wild plants that could not be grown within the City boundaries.

Jack continued down the list, "Harold Baxter," A short boy sitting next to Benjamin raised his hand and called out very loudly "Here!" Harold was from District Eight. They manufactured clothing.

"Marcus Betwited," a boy wearing expensive clothing Sitting alone on the far right side of the room smugly said "Here." He was from District One. They did absolutely nothing for the city, other than buy the merchants goods and throw parties. An Upper Class citizen who knows he could buy all of our houses and have them turned into ovals with just the money he gets for his birthday. I could already tell he was extremely stuck up and at that moment in time I hoped he would not survive the Ordeal.

"Rebecca De'Price," Rebecca raised her hand and said "here" and Jack smiled at her, "How is the De'Price business going?" Rebecca smiled and replied with,  
"Excellently, but not as well as the De'Racher business. I hear you guys might be moving to District Two soon." Jack laughed and shook his head with a smile.  
"And finally, Samantha Littlereed." Samantha was sitting next to Hannah. she raised her hand and quietly said "Here." She looked very thin and scared. Her District, District Nine, made medicines and was where the hospital was located.  
"Good so everyone is here and accounted for. We can begin educating you in the ways of the Pokemon Trainer."

Jack turned to the whiteboard behind him and picked up a marker that was on the desk. He turned back to face the class, with a slight smile on his face. His eyes looked directly at me. "Chester, being as you are from District Ten, would you please come up and write the species of Pokemon that are farmed in District Ten?" I nodded and got up from my chair. As I passed Marcus, I thought I heard him mutter indecencies about District Ten and bestiality. I ignored his attempt of making me feel angry and continued to the whiteboard. I quickly wrote down the species of Pokemon that I knew District Ten worked with; Mareep for their wool, Miltank for the milk they produce, Tauros to breed with the Miltank and for meat, several species of bird Pokemon including Torchic, Psyduck and Farfetch'd, for their meat and eggs, and Tepig for their meat. I turned to face the class, and opened my mouth to begin explaining why there were only these species on the board when Marcus opened his big gob and asked, "Aren't their more species, like Cinccino that are farmed for their fur?"

Jack looked at me, a smile of expectation on his face, and I smiled back. "District Ten is not the only District that house Pokemon. District Eleven house mostly plant-like Pokemon; such as Pumpkaboo and Tropius, as well as Combee for their Honey." Jack nodded. Harold then stood up and continued the explanation, "District Eight house Pokemon used for clothing making; such as Cinccino, Zigzagoon, Furret, Caterpie and Wurmple, among others." He then sat back down and smiled at me. I returned the smile as Samantha slowly stood up, "District Nine also have a large greenhouse full of Oddish and their evolved forms, as their leaves are used in medicine." She quickly sat back down, her pale face turning a light pink colour. I looked at the stupid look on Marcus' face. Rebecca stood up and began to include more information,  
"In District Four, some of the families, like mine, own small aquariums, in which we grow fish Pokemon to be used in seafood; such as Magikarp, Goldeen, Octillery, Krabby, Corphish and Feebas." She smiled at me and I walked back to my seat and the two of sat down after a high-five. Marcus looked slightly ticked off, and the other Selectees were all smiling and trying to stifle a few giggles.

Jack went back up to the front of the room; I hadn't seen him sit down on a desk at the back. "They are correct Marcus, Districts Ten and Eleven are not the only Districts that have experience with live Pokemon; although the Pokemon they have had contact with are normally on mild sedatives to keep their tempers down. Districts Twelve and Seven, two districts who brave outside the walls, also have experience with Pokemon, but mostly those belonging to a Trainer. Districts One, Two, Three, Five and Six are the only Districts that do not come into contact with a live Pokemon on an average day to day basis. This means, Marcus," He looked directly and Marcus, who's face had turned a shade of red, "And Benjamin are the only two Selectees this year that have not had experience with Pokemon." Benjamin nodded and raised his hand,  
"Despite not having been in contact with a live Pokemon, I have been present at several autopsies of recently deceased Pokemon. My father's company are working on new technologies that could help Trainers. We actually do house a species of Pokemon, Rattata, but they are used for testing and I have never seen one." He smiled.  
"Right, so you and Marcus have never seen a live Pokemon, but you have seen a Pokemon or two before." Jack nodded acknowledging Benjamin's statement, "I guess even teachers learn something new when teaching." He smiled and I could feel myself smiling in response. The escorts walked back in. Jack nodded and turned back to the class, "Your escorts will show you to the rooms you will be staying in. You have the rest of the afternoon off. Class dismissed." We got out of our seats and followed our escorts out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

It was day two of our training, and Jack had just been telling a story about how not to approach a Gloom. "Ok, Selectees, settle down." Jack said through laughter. I raised my hand to ask the one question that was bugging us. Jack looked at me and nodded. "What is the Ordeal?" Jacks face suddenly dropped, and he looked uncomfortable. "The Ordeal is something that was put into place several years after the apocalypse. They used to give you your first Pokemon, like in the older days before the apocalypse, but it was found that sometimes the starter Pokemon didn't believe their trainer was strong enough to control them, and many people died. So, to prevent that and to make it slightly easier for trainers to be in control of their first Pokemon, the Ordeal was created. After a week of basic training, the Selectees are to go outside the City boundaries and catch a Pokemon. They are given six Pokeballs and until sunset to do so. This is extremely dangerous, as many Pokemon can kill a human quicker than you can blink. But, despite the higher danger, it was found that the Pokemon caught this way were easier to train. It was also advised to only catch weaker Pokemon, just as an extra measure to make sure a new Trainer's first Pokemon is easier to train and control." He looked at us, waiting for it to sink in. The laughter and happy mood that most of us had a felt a few moments ago was gone. Benjamin raised his hand and asked, "What's the survival rate of the Ordeals?" Jack looked at him, and the mood dropped even lower. "Some years, all of the Selectees return before sundown, alive and some years; none make it through. But, on average, about half make it. No matter how prepared you are it is never enough. With my Ordeal, Myself and one other Selectee made it back. Ten Selectees were chosen that year. My fellow Selectee died later from a mission gone wrong. Being a Pokemon Trainer is not the hobby and fun adventure it used to be. It is extremely dangerous, but one of the most important jobs in the city." He looked around the silent room. His eyes landed on Marcus. "The reason we were talking about which Districts deal with Pokemon was to show Marcus and Benjamin that they need to research and study just that extra bit to enable them to hopefully survive their Ordeal. The others will have a small amount of knowledge of possible Pokemon that can be used as a good starter, but will also still need to study. There are no wild Mareep or Miltank in this area. You'll be lucky to see any water Pokemon, and most of the weaker Pokemon are harder to find." Just as he finished, Cedric and the other Escorts re-entered. Jack smiled and looked at us, "That is the end to today's discussion. Tomorrow we will begin our lessons on how to go about catching a Pokemon. Your escorts will now take you to your rooms." We got up and walked over to our escorts. We all felt a little shocked and terrified.

I was sharing a room with Benjamin and Harold. Marcus got the room next to us by himself, and the three girls were in the room across from us. Benjamin was sitting on his bed, I was lying on the floor, and Harold was sitting on the windowsill. "Does anyone know what Pokemon they think they'd be able to get?" Harold said after a few minutes of silence. I looked up at him and shrugged. Benjamin opened up a textbook that was on the desk next to him. "It says here that Ofain is surrounded by forests on the east, a desert to the west with grassland to the south and mountains to the north." We looked at each other and I smiled. "Why don't we spend the rest of the night until dinner writing down all the species of easy Pokemon we think will be in each area? One of us could each do a region, and do the desert for last?" Benjamin and Harold nodded and I got off the floor. "I'll do the Grassland. Harold, you can do the Mountains, which leaves the Forest for you Chester." We nodded and grabbed a pad of paper each and a textbook off of the desk and began to research.

Benjamin was reading through the textbook and jotting down a few notes. He looked up and began to read through his list. "In the Grassland I believe we can catch some Rattata, Pidgey, Spearow, Starly, Zigzagoon, Spritzee, Swirlix, Eevee, Nidoran, Pichu, Sentret, Buneary, Oddish, Bellsprout, Flabebe, Hoppip, Gulpin, Glameow, Litleo, Ledyba, Sewaddle, Volbeat, Illumise, and Ekans. There are a lot of other species, but I decided these would be easiest to catch, as they are among the weaker Pokemon." Harold and I nodded and agreed. The Grassland sounded like the easiest place to go, but then I thought about some of those Pokémon's evolved forms. "Don't go for Litleo. They live in prides with their Pyroar parents." Benjamin looked down at his textbook, and then looked back at me. "I must have missed that. Thanks. I was about to start planning how to catch one." He laughed and crossed out Litleo on his list. Harold cleared his throat and began to read out his list.

"Geodude, Magnemite, Nosepass, Lunatone, Solrock, Beldum, Drifloom, Bronzor, Roggenrola, Zubat, Woobat, Noibat, Doduo, Natu, Rufflet, Vullaby, Cubone, Swablu, Paras, Venonat, Nincada, Slugma, Skorpi, Durant, Vulpix, Eevee, Riolu, Electrike, Phanpy, Spoink, Machop, Tyrogue, Makuhita, Pawniard, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Abra, Happiny, Elekid, Whismur, Magby, Togepi, Wynaut, Skiddo, Solosis, Ditto and Aron. But Rufflet, Vullaby and Phanpy might be harder to catch as they are raised by their parents. Eevee live in every known habitat, so it's safe to say Chester will have it on his list." I nodded and began my list, leaving out Eevee as it was obvious.

"Gligar, Hoothoot, Murkrow, Tailow, Starly, Chatot, Pidove, Fletchling, Farfetch'd, Caterpie, Weedle, Spinarak, Wurmple, Kriketot, Burmy, Combee, Venipede, Joltik, Scatterbug, Lillipup, Zorua, Snubbull, Smeargle, Poochyena, Furfrou, Goomy, Meowth, Skitty, Shinx, Purloin, Espurr, Stantler, Deerling, Skiddo, Mime Jr, Timburr, Meditite, Ralts, Misdreavus, Gastly, Mankey, Aipom, Pansage, Pansear, Panpour, Munchlax, Teddiursa, Slakoth, Karrablast, Shelmet, Pancham, Exeggcute, Tangela, Bonsly, Sunkern, Pineco, Seedot, Shroomish, Budew, Cherubi, Petilil, Foongus, Phantump, Kecleon, Plusle, Minun, Spinda, Pachirisu and Audino." Benjamin and Harold nodded in agreement. The three of us began to research desert Pokemon, and began writing down species that could be easily caught there.

"So we decided to write down a few of the Pokemon that can be found in the area outside of the city." Harold was telling the rest of the Selectees in between mouthfuls of food. Benjamin handed our papers over for the girls to look at. Marcus had refused to sit with us, and was sitting on the other side of the Cafeteria; by himself. "I reckon the Forest would be the most dangerous place to go. It has the largest amount of Pokemon that we could potentially catch, yet this means there might be stronger and more dangerous Pokemon out there." Rebecca said, holding up the page that I had written. Hannah nodded in agreement. "I've been out there several times. It's pretty scary. Once, this big Persian came running out of the bushes at us. The Pokemon Trainers guarding us managed to scare her off. For a few moments, I thought she looked absolutely beautiful. So, I've already decided on a Pokemon I want to catch; a little Meowth." She said smiling. We all agreed that Persians are beautiful Pokemon. "I had a Persian Rug in my bedroom." A voice said from behind me. I turned around and was a little surprised to see Marcus standing behind me with his tray. Samantha looked at him at seemed to get even more terrified. Hannah got out of her seat and moved next to Samantha, "Marcus you can sit next to Rebecca." Rebecca smiled, and Marcus sat down next to her. None of us asked why he changed his mind, so we continued our conversation. "I reckon the Desert would be a good place to catch a Pokemon, but it's the most dangerous habitat if you subtract the Pokemon out. The Pokemon there would become strong quickly, but while out there you could die from dehydration or heat stress. So, the easiest place to go, in my opinion would be the Grassland. Weak Pokemon, it has a few streams where you could get water and it is open enough that you can see a strong Pokemon coming from a long way off." Benjamin explained. No one could disagree with his logic. He was District Three; they and Nine were the two smarter Districts. Samantha looked up at Benjamin, and began to explain her point of view, "That's a good point. Grassland Pokemon would be a lot easier to catch, but they don't get stronger as quickly. They would be good as a starter Pokemon, but a team built just from the Grasslands would be very weak, compared to a mixed team, and would suffer immensely in the other three environments." She looked down at the page she was looking at; the Mountains. "You guys forgot about the other side of the mountains, where it's cooler and gets large amounts of snow all year round. You can walk to and from the snow fields and still make it back before nightfall. I would add in that you could catch a Swinub, Sneasel, Delibird, Smoochum, Snorunt, Bergmite, Cryogonal or Vanillite very easily. And these Pokemon can become very strong, with a bit of work. Although, I wouldn't catch a Vanillite, Cryogonal or Bergmite as these Pokemon are adapted to survive in a colder environment; they're made out of ice, so would melt if taken to a warmer environment." Her soft quiet voice had made us all go quiet. Her intelligence was almost the same as Benjamin's; if not, greater.

By the time dinner had ended, we had all at least decided on an area we wanted to go to for our Ordeal; but that's only if they allow us to pick. We all headed up to our dorms for the night, and suddenly it hit me. I've been here for almost two days, and have not yet thought about my family, and have already made new friends. I stopped in my tracks. Benjamin looked back at me, "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to go call my family, to see how their handling this." After saying this, the others had remembered they had yet to call their families. "We should all go down in groups. Chester, Samantha and I will go down tonight, and you other four can go down after Breakfast before class." Rebecca said, grabbing Samantha's arm and dragging me and her back down the stairs. It looks like we don't have a choice.

"Yes mum, I've been eating. We just had dinner…. We had a choice between a Torchic soup or Buneary soup with a slice of bread and some vegetables… We get two free meals a day… The other kids are really nice… Yes even the District One boy, when he's not being a little stuck up. But you can't blame him. It's not his fault his family has more money than us… Ok Mum, Love you too. Bye." Samantha had just finished her conversation with her mum. Rebecca had called her parents and they had asked questions mostly to do with Jack and how the Eldest Son of the De'Racher family was doing. They were a little surprised at him being the Gym Leader. Samantha had a slight smile on her face as she hung up. "At least our parents haven't disowned us… Your turn Chester." _Disown?! _I had forgotten that some families disown their children if they become Trainers. I took a breath in and dialled home. There was only one phone so we had taken turns in calling our families.

"Hello, Deborah Joyhaven speaking. Who is this?"

"Hey Mum, it's me, Chester."

"Oh my God! Honey, Chester's on the phone. Chester, baby, how are you? Are you ok?"

"Yes mum. I'm alright. I'm still a little shaken up about being selected, but the other Selectees are really nice. We just had dinner, and were about to go to bed."

"Well that's good dear. What did you eat?"

"I had a Torchic soup with a slice of bread with some vegetables."

"What vegetables?" I smiled when mum asked this. She was very conscious of the amount of food we eat. Her and Dad sometimes go a day without food, just to make sure me and Bonnie eat.

"It was some Pumpkaboo with a bit of wild lettuce and tomatoes." I suddenly felt bad. My parents had probably gone hungry again tonight. "What did you guys eat?"

"Bonnie had some Tauros steak with a bit of lettuce, and your father and I had a piece of that Magikarp that you bought yesterday with the money you had gotten from selling your old baby clothes." I sighed with relief. Mum and Dad had eaten. "Honey, Bonnie wants to talk to you."

"Ok, put her on." I smiled. Rebecca mouthed 'Who is it' and I said, "It's my little sister." Rebecca and Samantha smiled.

"Hello Chester."

"Hey Bonnie, how are you?"

"I'm alright. Have you caught a Pokemon yet?"

"No not yet. I don't get a Pokemon until the end of the week." I stopped for a second. After my Ordeal, I could never call them again. I could die. I shook my head to get rid of the negative thoughts.

"I want to see you." Her soft voice sounded on the verge of tears.

"I want to see you too. Maybe after this week, I could organise with Mum for you guys to visit."

"Ok." She replied happily. "Mum says I have to go to bed now. Bye."

"Night Bonnie." My mother took the phone from Bonnie.

"Ok honey. We'll talk later ok? Your father and I have to go out and do the night shift in the Torchic sheds. Love you."

"Love you too. Goodnight." I hung up the phone.

"Did you talk to your dad?" Rebecca asked, and I looked at her, and Samantha nudged and shook her head,

"Chester's dad is mute. He lost his ability to talk a few years ago when he was kicked in the head by a Tauros." I looked at Samantha in surprise. She smiled and continued, "My mum was the doctor who was in charge of your dad. She told me just before about it."

I nodded and remembered why I had felt that her last name was familiar. was the woman who had looked after dad. I was eleven at the time.

"Ok guys, let's head off to bed." We walked up the stairs and I said goodnight to the girls and walked into my room. Benjamin and Harold were already asleep, so I got changed quickly and crawled under the covers of my bed. I fell asleep soon after.


	3. Chapter 3

Several days had passed since our second night. I had found out the next morning that Rebecca, Samantha, Benjamin and I were the only ones whose parents had wanted to talk to us. Marcus' parents had very loudly yelled at him that he was no longer their son. He had not talked to us for a day or two after that, and he still chooses to sit by himself at meals.

It was our last day of training; tomorrow morning we would go out into the wilds to catch our first Pokemon. Jack had given us today as a free day to do last minute preparations. Samantha and Hannah had gone outside into the garden to do a bit of meditating. Rebecca and Benjamin were in TD's library looking up ways to attract weaker Pokemon. Marcus was in his room; I had heard him crying last night. Harold had gone in to check on him, and had been yelled at to 'Go away you filthy peasant!' I had told him Marcus was just a little emotional.

Harold and I were in our room reading through journals some of the other Trainers had given us. I was reading an entry about how this boy from another city had caught a Poochyena as his first Pokemon.  
"Hey Chester, listen to this." I looked up and Harold began reading out an entry in the journal he was reading, "Today I saw a small pink Pokemon. It did not look like any Pokemon I had seen before. It had characteristics that resembled a feline Pokemon, but with a longer tail, and it floated; it never once touched the ground. It seemed very curious in what I was, and my Pokemon seemed slightly skittish around it, so I turned and went the other way. When I returned to TD, I looked up what Pokemon it was using its description to help. The Pokemon I had seen was a Mew, a legendary', Isn't that really cool Chester? This guy got to see a legendary, and survived to tell the tale."  
"Yea that's pretty cool. Where'd he say he was when he saw it?" I queried. Harold looked down at the journal, "It doesn't say. I think he didn't want people to go out looking for it in case they angered one of the other legendries."  
"Yea, that would probably be a smart thing to do; not tell anyone the location." We continued to read through the journals, but a nagging feeling was keeping me distracted. I eventually realised I had read the same paragraph three times. I got up and stretched, "Harold I'm going to go down to the library and see what Benjamin and Rebecca are doing. Want to come?" Harold looked up at me and shook his head, and returned to his reading. I shrugged and walked down to the library.

"Hey Chester, what are you doing down here?" Benjamin greeted me. He and Rebecca were surrounded by piles of books. "Oh, I was just coming down to do a bit of reading on the ancient legends." Rebecca looked at me with one eyebrow raised,  
"I think legends are in that bookshelf there." She pointed to a bookshelf on the very end of the Library, I nodded and said thanks and walked down to the bookshelf. It looked old; greyed wood that was once mahogany, rusting edges that had once been glistening steel. The books were yellow with age and smelt of old mysteries and wonders, as well as decaying cardboard. I picked up a large book that looked mostly intact and began reading.

"Arceus looked down from a mountain at his creation. He though '_Now that I have made this world, I must make creatures to inhabit it.' _He moved some dirt with his feet and breathed into it. A small pink Pokemon crawled out. '_I shall call you Mew. You will go forth and populate this world. Your children's children will change their form to become new creatures. Soon the world will be filled with many creatures, and all will know that you are the first.'_ Arceus then created more of Mew's kind so that they could breed. He then moved a rock and crushed it, and then heated it until it was magma. He breathed life into it. It formed into a large creature of an angry red colour. '_I will call you Groudon. You will be the king of the land. I will make one of your kind for each land mass and you will rule the land.'_ He then created more of Groudon's kind on other landmasses. Arceus then moved out into the water and caught a wave with his powers. He breathed life into it. It formed into a large creature of a deep sea blue. '_I will call you Kyogre, and you will be king of the oceans and seas. There will be one of your kind in each sea and you will rule the waves.'_ He then created more of Kyogre's kind in all the other seas. Arceus then rested for a few thousand years, but was awoken by a small Mew. '_Why have you awaken me, child of Mew?' _The little creature squeaked and mewed in the way that only Mew's kind could. He told Arceus of a battle between the Groudon and the Kyogre. Arceus went to Groudon and asked why he was fighting the Kyogre. Groudon growled and roared in the way that only Groudon's kind can. He told he wanted fewer oceans so that he and his kind could breed and have more lands to control and be kings of. Arceus was not pleased. He went to Kyogre and asked why he was fighting Groudon. Kyogre growled and sung in only the way that Kyogre's kind can. He told Arceus that he wished to have more oceans so he and his kind could breed and have more seas to be kings of. Arceus was not pleased. Arceus went up into the clouds and breathed life into them. They formed into a long creature of a green colour '_I will call you Rayquaza. You will be one and live in the sky. When a Groudon and a Kyogre fight, you will stop them.' _Arceus then went down and told the Groudon and Kyogre that they must not fight, or he will destroy them. He told them he had created a creature strong enough to destroy them, but had been told to not come down from the sky unless the Groudon and Kyogre fought. The Kyogre and Groudon agreed to not fight, for they feared this new creature. Arceus then looked out in his world and saw that it was heavily populated with creatures of all shapes and sizes. But they only lived on the land and in the forests. He asked Mew why his kind had not become creatures that live in the water and the deserts and volcanoes and sky. Mew told him that to do so they would need to breed with a creature of the volcanoes, a creature of the water and a creature of the sky. Arceus told Mew that his kind was free to breed with Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza. He then told Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza that their kind was allowed to breed with Mew's kind, and they were pleased. Arceus then went back to sleep for a few thousands of years, and when he awoke he had found the world populated by creatures of the forests, mountains, caves, volcanoes, water and sky and he was very pleased. But then Arceus noticed a creature unlike the others. This creature had the ability to create like Arceus, but had no emotions other than fear and hunger. Arceus created three creatures to give these strange creatures the gift of emotions and knowledge. '_I will call you Uxie, Azelf and Mespirit. You will go forth and give the creatures that create knowledge and emotions.'_ Arceus then went to the creating creatures and asked them what they called themselves. They responded in language, something that only Arceus knew. They told him they were called humans. Arceus was glad."

I put the book down and rubbed my eyes. The rest of the book began to talk about many other legendries and their roles. I yawned and looked at my watch. It was time for dinner. I looked over to where Rebecca and Benjamin had been sitting and saw that they had already left. I got up and made my way to the cafeteria.

I stood facing Jack. We were all standing in a line like soldiers preparing for war. It was the day of our Ordeal. "Inside this bag is a stone with the number one to four in it. There is seven of each number. You will pull out a stone, and the number you get corresponds to which gate you will be leaving to do your ordeal." Jack held the bag out to Samantha. She gulped audibly and put her hand in and pulled out a stone. "Do not say which number you got just yet." Jack said. He continued down the line, each of us taking out a stone. "Now, those with a one please step forward." Samantha and Marcus stepped forward. "You two will be going to the grasslands. You are not to help each other. Here is your backpack. It contains six Pokeballs, some food, a few bottles of Antidote and Repel. You have until the sun completely sets to return back to the city. Good luck." Marcus and Samantha were led to a train with a large 'One' on it, and it left to go towards the grassland gate. Jack looked back at us, "Those with a two please step forward." Hannah and Rebecca stepped forward. "You two will be going to the desert. Here is your bag, you have until the sun completely sets. Good luck." Hannah and Rebecca headed toward the train marked with a 'Two'. I sighed. I hope everyone makes it back, even Marcus. "Those with a three step forward." Benjamin and Harold stepped forward, leaving me by myself. "Harold, Benjamin, you two are in the mountains." Benjamin audibly sighed with relief.

Panic began creeping its way up my body. Benjamin and Harold went the train marked with a 'Three'. Jack looked down at me. "Chester, I'm guessing you have a four?" I nodded even though it was obvious. "Chester, as you have probably guessed you are in the forest. I wish you good luck. Here is your bag. Be back before the sunsets Chester. The forest gets darker much earlier than the others so I expect you back here sooner." I nodded and Cedric took my arm. He led me to the last train. He turned me around and held out his hand. I shook it and looked into his eyes. He looked as though he might cry. He answered the question before I could ask it, "All of the Selectees I escort end up going to the Forest. Nine out of ten times they don't make it back completely whole. Five out of ten, they never come back. Most come back missing an arm or something and die later. Good luck. Don't break a leg. You, I hope, are number ten, and will comeback in one piece." I nodded and thanked him for being there when I needed him over the past week. I asked him if he could contact my family if I did not survive and he agreed. I turned and got onto the train.

I stood facing the gate. It was a large steel thing, four times my height and if I lied down; its width would be five of me. The trainers on guard at the gate opened it for me and saluted. I nodded and walked through. A path led from the gate across a small but deep trench and into a dark forest of tall green trees. I stepped out onto the path and heard the gate shut behind me. I took a deep breath in and blew it out after three seconds. I walked straight into the forest.

I had been walking for about five minutes when I spotted my first Pokemon. A little green Spinarak came skittering out of a log. I jumped back in surprise then laughed. I continued on, the Spinarak had already scurried away. I came to a clearing and took of my bag and sat down on a log. I looked inside the bag and found a Torchic and lettuce sandwich. I ate one half and put the rest back in my bag. I heard a rustling in the bushes near the log. I slowly stood, took a Pokeball out of the bag, and swung the bag onto my back being as quietly as possible. The rustling continued. I stayed perfectly still. I could feel the sweat forming on my back and forehead. What if this is a really strong Pokemon? Suddenly I was tackled by a small pink blur. I landed hard on my butt and looked over at the Pokemon. It was hovering slightly above the ground. I gasped, it was a Mew! It looked at me with its head cocked, looking confused as to why there was a person in front of it. It mewed, and suddenly a little Pokemon came out from the bushes. It had blue fur around its head and front legs, and black fur on its hind quarters. It had a yellow band of fur on both legs, and yellow fur at the end of its short black tail. It looked up at me and mewed. I realised it was a little Shinx. It looked as though it was happy to see me. I looked to where the Mew was and was surprised to see it still there. It came over to me and picked up the Pokeball I had dropped. It then touched it to the Shinx's head. The Shinx was sucked inside the Pokeball by a red light, and the Pokeball glowed red, shook twice then glowed green before it stopped shaking. The Mew looked at me, nudged the Pokeball towards me then disappeared. I stared at the Pokeball and rubbed my eyes a couple of times. Then it dawned on me. I had caught my first Pokemon. Or, to be precise, a Mew had caught it for me. A Mew caught a Pokemon for me. I got up, picked the Pokeball up and walked straight back to the city. When I reached the gate, I was surprised to see I had only been out there for two hours, and still had plenty of time left. The trainers on guard were just as surprised to see me back so soon. They welcomed me back, slapped my back, congratulated me and asked what my Pokemon was. I smiled and shook my head as I walked back to the train.


	4. Chapter 4

I arrived back in TD an hour after catching, well, receiving the little Shinx. Cedric smiled and came over to me and awkwardly hugged me, but I smiled and hugged him back. Standing next to Jack stood Marcus, who looked quite smug. I came over to them and shook both their hands. "So, two of our selectees manage to come back within the first four hours. Congratulations Chester. What Pokemon did you catch?" I smiled at him and told him I had caught a Shinx. I decided not to mention the Mew. I looked at Marcus, "What Pokemon did you catch?" He smiled and flexed his hands,  
"A Nidoran, a blue one." He smiled and I congratulated him. I then asked him if he had seen Samantha on his way back. He nodded, "She was tracking down an Oddish. She was determined to catch an Oddish, said something about being able to use its leaves for medicine for her other Pokemon." He shrugged. I nodded. We had all agreed on which Pokemon we had wanted to catch, and Rebecca and Samantha ended up being the only two able to do so.

Jack nodded towards the Pokemon Centre, "Chester, go and register your Shinx and heal it if necessary. Leave it in its Pokeball for today. You guys will not start training your Pokemon until tomorrow." I nodded and headed over to the Pokemon Centre. I asked the lady at the front desk where I go to register and heal my Pokemon and she showed me to the correct room. I thanked her and she left. I placed Shinx's Pokeball onto the machine and it scanned the 'ball. On the screen it came up with a picture of my Shinx, along with its information. _My Shinx._ I smiled. The Shinx was two months old, a male and had the docile nature. I took the pokeball off the machine and walked down to the library. I wanted to come up with a name for my new little friend.

I arrived at the library and found Marcus had had the same idea as me. We both began looking through textbooks of different languages, looking for a name that suited our Pokemon. I held a large textbook that held translations for an ancient language, and as I found out, the same language used on the gate into TD, 'Innoxius excipimus portas mortis'. I looked through the book, and found a name that suited the Shinx. "Hey Marcus, this book has really cool words that could be used. I'm thinking of 'Comis' for my Shinx. It means friendly or kind. He didn't attack me; he just stood and seemed happy to see me, so I think it fits." Marcus came over and looked through the book with me.  
"I think my Nidoran, being a girl should have queen in her name." Marcus said pointing to the word 'Regina' which meant queen. I rolled my eyes, and continued looking through the book. "Well, your Pokemon is blue, and all its evolved forms are sort of blue, so why not 'Blue Queen'?" I asked him. He thought for a moment, "What's blue in this language?" I looked through the book until I found it,  
"Blue is hyacintho." Marcus shook his head,  
"Regina is good enough." I nodded and agreed Regina was the perfect name for a Nidoran, Pokemon of a District One citizen.

We both came out of library and saw that the girls had all arrived at the same time. We walked over to them and Rebecca rushed and hugged me. I hugged Samantha and Hannah. Marcus stood awkwardly behind me. "Marcus tells me you were looking for an Oddish. Did you catch one?" I asked Samantha. She nodded. Rebecca and Hannah were covered in dirt and scratches, and Hannah looked a little sunburnt. "How'd you two go?" I asked them.  
"I went all right. I managed to catch a small Ponyta." Hannah responded. I looked at Rebecca.  
"I caught the Pokemon I had planned to catch, a Sandile." She smiled with joy. I congratulated the two of them. Marcus and I waited with Jack for Benjamin and Harold to arrive. The girls headed to the Pokemon Centre to heal and register their Pokemon, and then went to the library to do as Marcus and I did; find the book on that ancient language and find names for their new Pokemon.

Marcus nudged me and whispered into my ear, "Just between you and me, I'm glad Samantha made it back. I wanted so badly to help her." I looked at him, and saw that he was blushing. _Could he...no…could he?_ I smiled and nodded, "I'm glad the girls all came back fine and with a Pokemon. I hope Benjamin and Harold are doing all right." _Please let them be alright._

The girls had come back to the train station, but Benjamin or Harold had yet to arrive.  
"What names did you pick for your Pokemon girls?" I asked,  
"We found that book you were talking about. I ended up deciding on Arida for my Sandile. It means arid and sounds feminine so I chose it." Rebecca responded, "Samantha chose 'Chlora' for her female Oddish, as it means medicine and Hannah's male Ponyta is now Ignis, which means fire."  
The girls smiled. Jack looked at his watch, "Harold and Benjamin have two more hours before we announce them dead." Just as he said that, a train came roaring down towards us. Rebecca grabbed by hand and I squeezed back. The five of us, Me, Rebecca, Hannah, Samantha and Marcus stood squeezing each other's hands, hoping that both boys were on the train and had both passed.

The train slowed and stopped in front of us. It had no windows, like all trains in our city, so we had no way of knowing who was inside. The doors slid open and we sighed with relief. Benjamin and Harold stood at the door smiling at us. They climbed down from the train and we rushed them. All seven of us stood in a large circle of hugs. We had all made it back alive. "What'd you guys get?" Marcus asked after we had stopped hugging. Harold and Benjamin seemed a little surprised to find Marcus actually cared about them. After his initial shock, Harold launched into the story of how he caught his Pokemon,  
"So there we were; me and this Donphan mother. She looked ready to charge. I was ready to run. Suddenly, her two little Phanpy babies came out from behind her. The mother looked at her babies then back up at me. She then did what looked to be nodding. The smaller baby then came waddling up to me, and was tugging on my shirt. So, I tapped it with the pokeball, and, well, I caught it. I then looked back up at the mother and called out to her, 'Thankyou for letting me have your baby. We'll come visit.' And the mother nodded, and the other baby made a happy noise, and then they wondered off back towards the rest of the herd." Harold smiled after telling his story, holding up the Pokeball that now contained a little Phanpy baby. We all congratulated him on his new Pokemon, and then waited for Benjamin to tell his story,  
"I caught an Aron." was all he said before heading towards the Pokemon Centre. We stood there, a little shocked that Benjamin didn't elaborate on his capture of a potentially strong Pokemon. "He's probably just tired guys. Harold, go register your Pokemon. Everyone else, dinner will be in five minutes." He then turned and walked over to the Gym, where his apartment and office were. We all headed back to our dorms. I told Harold about the book we had found, and we had all decided to use it to name our first Pokemon and he said he would tell Benjamin.

We sat down to dinner; a celebratory meal of Magikarp, Torchic, Farfetch'd, and Sawsbuck meat with a large array of vegetables and Bellsprout soup. All seven Selectees had returned back to TD in one piece and with a Pokemon; tomorrow we would begin our new lives as Pokemon Trainers. Harold began telling us about what and why he named his Phanpy, "My Phanpy is a boy, so I decided to call it 'Volvo' which in that old book means 'to roll', and Phanpy and Donphan roll, so I thought it was perfect." We laughed at his logic, but it did make sense. Benjamin was sitting quietly at the end of our table; he looked as though he might fall asleep in his soup. "Hey, Benjamin, what'd you name your Aron?" I asked, nudging him. He looked up and yawned,  
"I decided to name him 'Canus' as it means silver, and it also sounds similar to 'canis' which is dog and Aron look a little like silver dogs." He then turned back to his food, slowing eating the soup.

After dinner, Jack stood in front of all the Trainers, and gave a speech, "I would like to congratulate all seven of our newest trainers. In order of arrival, Marcus Betwited who caught a female Nidoran named Regina, Chester Joyhaven who caught a male Shinx named Comis, Rebecca De'Price who caught a female Sandile named Arida, Hannah Bridgetaint who caught a male Ponyta named Ignis, Samantha Littlereed who caught a female Oddish named Chlora, Harold Baxter who caught a male Phanpy named Volvo and Benjamin Applegate who caught a male Aron named Canus; Congratulations, and welcome to the world of Pokemon training. Please come up and accept your Trainer's ID card. This card will enable you to buy items for yourself and your Pokemon, to be identified when it is required, and to receive pay." The cafeteria exploded in applause as all seven of us, Benjamin required a bit of nudging, made our way to the front and accepted our cards. "Ladies and Gentlemen, our new Trainers!" And the other Trainers cheered and many came up to congratulate us. Jack took us aside to have a few words, "Now begins the real test; training the Pokemon you caught. You will first be required to get it to understand you are in charge, and then you can begin working on a few commands. At the current moment you are Level One trainers. This means you cannot accept jobs yet, and are only allowed on Pokemon. After you successfully pass the Level One test, you move on to Level Two which enables you to take jobs and have up to three Pokemon. You will only be able to receive and accept E-rated jobs." He explained to us.  
"What sort of jobs would we get?" Marcus asked, and Benjamin perked up and began to pay a little more attention. "E-rated jobs include collection missions, and small guarding jobs. You will average anywhere between fifty dollars to a hundred dollars per job. A collection job requires you to go out into the wilds and collect a certain amount of a certain Pokemon. E-rated collection jobs usually are weak bug Pokemon that produce silk." Jack explained; he was still taking on the role as our teacher. "You should all go back to your dorms to get some rest; you're going to need it, especially Benjamin." At the mention of his name Benjamin jumped; he had fallen asleep standing up. Hannah giggled a bit and we left to return to our dorms. I crawled under my sheets on my bed and immediately fell asleep.


End file.
